Windows 11 Assigned Access kiosk mode works well for my setup: it opens a single timeclock webpage in full screen. The problem is that I also need a small AutoKey script to start automatically so it can remap keys on the numeric keypad. I placed a shortcut to the script in the kiosk user's Startup folder, but nothing launches. The same shortcut works normally when I log into another Windows profile, so Assigned Access appears to be bypassing Startup items. I also tried Task Scheduler with triggers for any user and the kiosk user, including elevated privileges, but the app still would not start. Is there a supported way to launch this helper app in kiosk mode?
2 Answers
A shortcut in the user Startup folder won’t reliably run in a single-app kiosk, because Assigned Access controls which application is launched and restricts the rest of the shell. Since the scheduled-task approach also failed, the practical options are to configure a multi-app kiosk with Edge plus the macro program, or build the key-mapping behavior into the webpage or another component that Edge is permitted to use. Registry startup entries are unlikely to help because the kiosk restrictions still apply after logon.
The Startup folder and normal logon tasks are commonly restricted in Assigned Access, so Task Scheduler usually won’t bypass the kiosk profile’s limitations. If the helper app must run as part of the kiosk session, define the setup as a multi-app kiosk instead of the single-app configuration. Add both Edge and the AutoKey executable to the Assigned Access configuration XML, then allow the required executable and command-line settings. This is the supported way to make an additional application available in the kiosk environment.
That sounds like the direction I’ll need to take. I was hoping there was a quicker setting-based option, since only three PCs are involved, but the XML configuration may be necessary.